The Giants finally get to the top spot, thanks in part to the
Jets' beat-down on the Titans. The Titans' lose 6.1% of their
power index, and are now just a sliver above the Ravens.

Note that the Bucs' power actually did increase (a little) on
their win over the Lions; just not enough to stay ahead of the
Jets and Steelers.

The Patriots get a very good win over the Dolphins, and APR
finally moves them up to the top 10.

The Redskins get another close win against a bad team. With
the Giants and Ravens yet to play, they're probably not going to
do better than 3-2 in their last 5. With the Cowboys, Panthers,
and Falcons all at 7 or more wins, 10-6 (without the right
tie-breakers) might not be enough to get an NFC wildcard spot this
year.

Are the Chargers really out of the playoffs?
APR still has them ranked over the Broncos, but looking
at the Chargers remaining schedule, I'm not sure I see even 3
teams they can beat. The Broncos might not make it past 8 wins,
but that's probably all it's going to take to win the AFC West
this year.

Of the 8 teams that played in the divisional round of the
playoffs last year (Jaguars, Patriots, Chargers, Colts, Seahawks,
Packers, Giants and Cowboys), all but the Giants have suffered at
least a moderate drop-off of strength from last year. Half of
them (Jaguars, Chargers, Seahawks, and Packers) currently have a
losing record.

Teams ESPN likes more than APR:

Redskins (+10)

The Redskins had a chance to move up in APR's rankings this
week. Even a 7-point win would've moved them up 3 spots.
Somebody needs to tell ESPN that 3 points over a 2-9 opponent does not
qualify as a "solid road win" for a team in the playoff
hunt.

Cowboys (+8)

APR doesn't know about garbage-time points, so the Cowboys
13-point win looks closer than it was.

Teams APR likes more than ESPN:

Ravens (-10)

ESPN and APR both hold the Ravens steady on their win over the
Eagles. Maybe they're not as good as APR has them, but how can ESPN
rank them below the Redskins?

Packers (-9)

APR drops the Packers out of the top 10. ESPN drops them 4
spots, partly because how damaging that loss was to the Packers
playoff hopes.

Historically Bad Teams Watch

There could easily be 4 new teams in the "top" 50 at the end of
this season. Unless the Rams get another win, they are guaranteed
a spot in the top 30. The Chiefs and Bengals play in week
17, so at least one of these teams should get another win.

Rank

Team

Net
Pts/Game

W-L

Next Week

1

1976 Buccaneers

-20.50

0-14

n/a

2

1972 Patriots

-18.14

3-11

n/a

3

2008 Rams

-17.91

2-9

vs Dolphins

4

1973 Oilers

-17.71

1-13

n/a

5

1967 Falcons

-17.64

1-12

n/a

...

...

...

...

...

22

2008 Lions

-13.91

0-11

vs Titans

...

...

...

...

...

34

2008 Chiefs

-11.91

1-10

@ Raiders

...

...

...

...

...

38

2008 Bengals

-11.64

1-9-1

vs Ravens

The next 2008 team to appear on this list is the Raiders, who are
currently #127.